Molecular analysis of TCGA breast cancer histologic types

Breast cancer is classified into multiple distinct histologic types, and many of the rarer types have limited characterization. Here, we extend The Cancer Genome Atlas Breast Cancer (TCGA-BRCA) dataset with additional histologic type annotations, in a total of 1063 breast cancers. We analyze this extended dataset to define transcriptomic and genomic profiles of six rare special histologic types: cribriform, micropapillary, mucinous, papillary, metaplastic, and invasive carcinoma with medullary pattern. We show the broader applicability of our constructed special histologic type gene signatures in the TCGA Pan-Cancer Atlas dataset with a predictive model that detects mucinous histologic type across cancers of other organ systems. Using a normal mammary cell differentiation score analysis, we order histologic types into a continuum from stem cell-like to luminal progenitor-like to mature luminal-like. Finally, we classify TCGA-BRCA into 12 consensus groups based on integrated genomic and histological features. We present a rich openly accessible resource of histologic and genomic characterization of TCGA-BRCA to enable studies of the range of breast cancers.